Advice on Temporary Windscreen Repair

[MULLEY]

Righto, some maaaaasive stone/rock smashed into the bottom of my windsreen on the driver side right in line with me, sounded like a fucking gunshot going off it was that loud, i even ducked as i saw something hurtling towards me, i was doing approx 60mph at the time.

It's approx a fist sized amount of damage, right at the bottom of the screen (i'm guessing the strongest part?), its actually damaged the outer layer so much that you can see how deep it goes & its even punched the glass through to the inside of the cabin, so its mullered.

Typically its in the wiper blade sweep area so it will kill the wiper if i use it & i also don't want rain to get inside the damage. Has anyone got any suggestions for a temporary repair, i was thinking of either using paint laquer to seal the damage up or try using some clear builders caulk to the same effect. Will either of these work or is one a better temporary solution than the other or does anyone recommend something different?

Knowing my luck it'll be raining when i leave off work today

I'll put up a seperate post about trying to get hold of a replacement screen etc & whether its worth doing it via the insurance or not, so don't post anything about this rubbish on this posting please, i'll create a seperate one in a bit.

Cheers everyone.

[mat_fenwick]

I'd look for a neutral cure sealant (better adhesion to glass) with a low modulus (more elastic). A specific glazing sealant would be what you're looking for if possible.

[Dollywobbler]

I'd just call your insurance. They did the Green Tiger with the minimum of fuss, and it only had a small chip.

[MULLEY]

Flippin eck, i said not to post anything other than advice on how to bodge the windscreen repair, the insurance stuff was going to be in another thread, come on dollywobbler, get with the program

Mat, any ideas of brands etc...?

[Defender110]

Stickyback plastic and a wire coat hanger!

[Vanny]

Stickyback plastic and a wire coat hanger!

This is what the AA do these days, well the sticky back plastic bit at least. It is a really quite thick industrial plastic they use, not the sort that you would back books with.

[citsncycles]

Sorry if you already know this, but I believe the screen contributes to the rigidity of the structure, so take it steady round those bends until it's fixed.

[mat_fenwick]

No real idea on brands - I get most of my stuff from Toolstation and Screwfix which seems fine.

[Tinkley]

Try and get hold of some polyester membrane sheet, a bit specialist but clear and strong enough. Cadillac Plastics sell it but it may be a bit too industrial ie thay might want to sell 30 sheets. Clear acetate should be available in art shops and there are some pretty tough tapes out there 3M and Tesa brands, in particular. Another 'fix' would be to use a clear epoxy but you need to mask it and use thick polythene as a facing material. This will peel off after cure. Tensol which is aclear Acrylic glue/resin could be used too and you can definitely buy that. It's damn near as good as the windscreen when cured. Again you need to use polythene or polypropylene as these will not stick to it. Failing these release materials anything coated in Carnauba wax will release - Maguiars No8 especially.

[kiwi]

If the crack interferes with your line of sight the surely that would mean your car is illegal to drive safely?

No such thing as temporary repair

[mat_fenwick]

It's just something to keep the water out for a few days, so personally I wouldn't go to town on the 'repair' - just whatever I could do quickly and cheaply. Yes, technically the car will be unroadworthy but if it's right at the bottom won't actually be obscuring vision (apart from the view of the bonnet!) so I wouldn't deem it dangerous to other road users.

It will contribute to the strength of the shell although I don't know how much (30% is a figure I've heard). Less critical on a BX than on an airbag equipped car, which can inflate against the screen so it's more important that it's OK.

[Vanny]

which can inflate against the screen.

They inflate against your face (comedy if you've crossed you're arms over the wheel), and deflate against the screen. Contrary to the holy wood films, they don't stay inflated, they have a hole in them and start to slowly deflate before they are totally filled.

They might pop a broken window out, but a lack of window should not stop there effectiveness at making you punch your own elbow through your face!

[MULLEY]

Right, this is what i've done so far, got some blue tack & pulled out all the loose pieces of glass that were loose to clean the area up. I then sprayed some clear paint laquer over the affected area to make it waterproof & then i filled the area with clear builders caulk to reduce damage to the wiper blade etc... I'll see how that holds up tomorrow if it starts raining.

The damage isn't in my line of vision, so its ok to drive, yes the windscreen is weakened & there is the potential that if something else whacked the screen then it could just destroy it, but i've got no choice until i get a replacement windscreen which should be on Monday. I did enquire about the cost, my excess is £75 or i could purchase windscreen (green tinted version) for £303, ouch!!! I said i'd pay the excess instead as that was more than the car cost me.

I'm not going to bother with the other thread that i mentioned at the beginning as i've made my decision, life's too short to be pissing about these day's, if it does affect my future insurance premiums, so be it....

Thank you to everyone's contributions good or rubbish

[Tinkley]

I have been quoted £145 by an independent glazing firm in Guildford which happens to do Auto glazing as well. That was about 2 years ago but I can't believe 'inflation' has doubled it. About 9 years ago when the oiks smashed the passenger side window these guys were 1/3rd the price of Autoglass. Try them for a quote - Addison's is the name I think on Walnut Tree Close. Oh you will need to add VAT but includes fitting if you can get the vehicle there.
The green/grey tint, tomorrow sir. My old passenger side window same day, whilst Autoglass was three days sir.....
Now I'm fully comp its not bad but when TPFT it pays to get quotes. Quarter light windows are cheaper than claiming on the excess if you know where to look.

[kiwi]

which can inflate against the screen.

They inflate against your face (comedy if you've crossed you're arms over the wheel), and deflate against the screen. Contrary to the holy wood films, they don't stay inflated, they have a hole in them and start to slowly deflate before they are totally filled.

They might pop a broken window out, but a lack of window should not stop there effectiveness at making you punch your own elbow through your face!

This is something I was made very aware of in my time as a firey, When you crash and the vehicles fitted with an airbag it wont save you from any secondary impacts common in muti vehicle incidents or off road. I went to one accident practically every airbag in the vehicle had deployed when this vehicle left the road and somersaulted into a field. Still had serious injuries involved because of the secondary impacts.

Saw demonstration of the power of an airbag and its one thing to rember if you go rushing in to help someone after an accident, that these things are potential time bombs undeployed. Always disconect the battery and stay clear of unexploded airbags for anything up to 5 minutes as they store an electrical charge.

Glad BXs were not fitted with them.